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By Greg Bartlett

A few months ago, my brother-in-law’s car disappeared. It vanished in the middle of the night, right out of his apartment’s parking lot. He walked out in the morning to find an empty parking space and no way to get to work. Apparently, it is quite easy to break the lock with a good flathead screwdriver. The Honda Accords of that year are the second most stolen car in North Carolina. He thought that the car was gone for good. The cops were helpful. “Yeah, we won”t find it. It’s probably turned into parts by now. They just love those things. You just spent $200 on brand-new tires last week? Wow. They’re gonna love that.” The insurance company was equally encouraging by offering them a little sympathy and a car-theft plan for their next vehicle.

A few weeks later he had resigned himself to life without his car. But, he still had this obsession with checking out every beige Honda Accord that drove by. One day he went to a restaurant with a friend only two miles from his house. He told his friend about his obsession and then proceeded to check out yet another beige Honda sitting in the parking lot. It was his car.

GPS Tracking & Your Car

It’s nice to have stories with happy endings, but unfortunately, car thefts don’t usually end that way. The cops had a reason for saying what they did and owners usually do have an obsession for a couple of months or a year. And then they move on.

But recently, some other owners have had better luck finding their cars, but not by checking out the local fast food restaurants, but with car tracking devices. This new technology lets you find out where your car is whether the driver wants you to or not. So let’s imagine a different outcome: Say that last year I gave my brother-in-law a car tracking device for Christmas. He thinks I’m strange but installs it in his trunk anyway. Half-way through the year he’s calling me, thanking me for getting him his car back because I had enough foresight and knew a little bit about car tracking devices. About then, I’m feeling really good.

Oh well. I should have thought about it last year. But it’s not too late to get a car tracking device for all my relatives this year. My guess is that my brother-in-law would be really happy to have one about now.